Interview

Walid Waleed, interviewd by John Malkin
February 2008

Walid Waleed is 38 years old and was born in the Alkhaalij quarter of Baghdad. He now lives in the country side in a village in south-east Baghdad. He was married in 1997 and now has two boys and three girls; Ows 10, Mohammad 8, Nowras 6, Nibras 4 and less than one year old Ziena. Before the violence he lived as one big family, with about twenty-two people, but now they live in individual temporary houses. Walid studies journalism at Baghdad University and got practical experience as a guide for foreign journalists for many years. He has done interviews for magazines, newspapers and TV and helped Japanese producers make a documentary film about children during the US/UN economic sanctions. He recently produced an autobiographocal documentary about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.

John Malkin interviewed Walid in January 2008. John is a writer, musician and author of “Sounds of Freedom”, a collection of interviews with musicians concerning spirituality and social change. He is a regular contributor to Good Times Weekly of Santa Cruz, California.

JM: What kind of newspapers/TV are available in Iraq now? How do people get news there?

January 2, 2008

Interview with Kathy Kelly, co-ordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Washington Journal, in Des Moines (C-Span)

Des Moines - With 40 percent of Iowa’s Republican caucus … all » voters expected to come from the ranks of conservative Christians, peace activists occupied Mike Huckabee’s campaign headquarters in Iowa’s capital city today with signs asking the former Baptist minister, “Who Would Jesus Bomb?”

Eight members of the Iowa Occupation Project and Voices for Creative Nonviolence arrived at Huckabee’s Locust St. campaign office early Monday afternoon (Dec 31, 2007), waiting for the former Arkansas governor’s reply to a letter delivered two months ago that sought his pledge to completely withdraw from Iraq within 100 days of assuming office; halt all military actions against Iraq and Iran; fund the rebuilding of Iraq as well as health, education and infrastructure needs in the U.S.; and “…the highest quality health care, education and jobs training benefits for veterans of our country’s Armed Services.”

June 2007

Kathy Kelly presents her experiences of visits to Iraq before the US occupation and her subsequent visits. The video is in 5 parts.

Part 1

May 20, 2007

Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV) interview with Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator with Voices for Creative Nonviolence. The video is in 3 parts.

March 27th, 2007

The Senate prepares to vote this week on a $100 billion spending bill that would give the President $100 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Last month, the group Voices For Creative Nonviolence launched the Occupation Project. Activists around the country traveled to congressional offices and conducted sit-ins while calling on lawmakers to stop funding the war. We speak with veteran peace activist Kathy Kelly. The Senate is preparing to vote this week on a spending bill that would give the President $100 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also establish a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by next year. We speak with veteran peace activist Kathy Kelly On Capitol Hill, the Senate is preparing to vote this week on a spending bill that would give the President $100 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also establish a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by next year. On Friday the House passed a similar bill by a margin of 218 to 212.

Listen to the Democracy Now! Radio Program

February 6, 2007

Kathy Kelly Interview with Democracy Now!

Kathy Kelly joins us hours after being released from jail. She was one of ten people arrested in Sen. McCain’s office in Washington. Eight more were arrested in the Illinois offices of Senators Obama and Durbin. Kelly just returned from two months living and working with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan.

The White House won an early victory Monday in the Congressional debate over the Iraq war. Republicans blocked voting on a non-binding resolution expressing disapproval of President Bush’s deployment of at least 21,000 troops. The measure would have marked the first Congressional effort since the invasion to confront President Bush over the war. Joseph Lieberman joined with the Republican filibuster. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Norm Coleman of Minnesota switched sides and voted with the Democrats.

As the Senate debated, a coalition of peace activists launched their own effort to oppose the war. Ten people were arrested occupying the offices of the staunchly pro-war and likely-presidential hopeful Senator John McCain. The activists sang the names of seventy-five servicemembers from McCain’s home-state of Arizona who died in Iraq and chanted “We remember you.”

The action is part of a new campaign called The Occupation Project: A Campaign of Sustained Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Iraq War. It’s being led by the group Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Activists have promised to occupy offices of lawmakers who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding for the occupation of Iraq.

Kathy Kelly, Executive Director of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She is a veteran peace activist who’s just returned from two months living and working with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan. She took part in the occupation of Senator McCain’s office and was released from jail just hours ago.

Listen to the Interview with Democracy Now!

Includes a rush transcript of the interview